Job Description & Details
This is a targeted hardware contract focused on a specific, high-stakes board spin where you will swap out an existing cellular modem for a new one. If you enjoy schematic-level modifications, antenna tuning, and bringing up low-power IoT hardware without getting bogged down in endless bureaucracy, this gig will scratch that itch.
What You'll Actually Be Doing
Your primary mission is to take an existing electronic board, rip out the current cellular modem, and integrate a modern replacement while keeping the surrounding analog and digital domains intact. You will be hands-on with schematic updates, tackling impedance matching headaches, sorting out antenna integration, and running through hardware bring-up and RF debugging. Expect to spend a solid amount of time validating cellular connectivity and optimizing power consumption so the battery doesn't drain in a week.
The Core Tech Stack
You absolutely need strong fundamentals in LTE/4G/5G cellular-radio design, RF circuits, and antenna interfaces. The team is specifically looking for someone who has previously navigated modem integration and knows how to evaluate RF requirements, power supply ripple, and interface specs. If you have hands-on experience with Nordic Semiconductor's nRF9151 or nRF91M1 chips, you will instantly become their favorite person in the room.
Interview Expectations
Expect the hiring manager to immediately test your pragmatic RF troubleshooting chops by asking how you would diagnose a failed conducted or radiated spurious emissions test during a cellular certification run. They want to see if you instinctively check power supply decoupling, harmonic suppression, and matching network shifts, or if you just blindly swap components. They will also likely drill into your past board-spin experience, wanting to hear a war story about how you tracked down an elusive impedance mismatch on a tight deadline.
Application Advice
Skip the generic project management fluff and put your hardware wins front and center on your resume. Explicitly call out every instance where you performed a board respin, swapped a wireless module, or dealt with LTE-M, NB-IoT, or cellular IoT modems. Make sure keywords like schematic capture, impedance matching, antenna integration, and power optimization are cleanly visible to get past the automated screen and in front of an engineering lead who actually knows what an RF path looks like.